With the return of full services after two Covid-disrupted years, officials advise caution despite easing of restrictions
Health officials are urging Australians to take Covid-19 precautions at Anzac Day commemorations despite restrictions easing in most states and territories.
With many jurisdictions preparing for the return of full-scale Anzac Day services after two Covid-disrupted years, Victoria’s health department has shared risk-mitigation tips.
Continue reading...China doesn’t ‘play by same rules’, PM warns of China’s influence in Pacific region; Labor’s frontbench to replace Albanese in physical campaign; WA premier Mark McGowan tests positive for Covid; Morrison attacks NSW independent commission against corruption for ‘sickening’ treatment of Gladys Berejiklian; at least 46 Covid deaths recorded— live updates
Speaking to ABC Brisbane this morning, (he truly has been everywhere this morning) Scott Morrison was asked his thoughts on the ABC:
We continue to fund the ABC, we continue to keep up the pace on ensuring that it is a competent and professional broadcaster and particularly to support the work that the ABC does in regional areas.
I think the recent floods once again highlighted, I think the ABC at its best, and that’s when it’s providing important information in the middle of natural disasters and things of that nature.
At the start of this week [December 2021], the prime minister told reporters: “Gladys was put in a position of actually having to stand down and there was no findings of anything.”
Fact: Berejiklan resigned as premier in September, voluntarily.
Continue reading...Legal figures say it is ‘ridiculous’ for the PM to call the NSW corruption commission a ‘kangaroo court’ that has led to too many politicians resigning
Transparency experts have criticised as “absolute rubbish” Scott Morrison’s claims that the resignations of New South Wales Liberal premiers Nick Greiner and Barry O’Farrell show the Independent Commission Against Corruption is a “kangaroo court”.
On the defensive after effectively ditching his commitment to create a federal anti-corruption body, Morrison complained on Friday that the NSW Icac had resulted in politicians quitting “too many times”.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Sydney independent says he can’t have a ‘cooperative relationship’ with the NSW minority government if the premier continues comments
The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, will meet with an independent MP who has threatened to withdraw supply and confidence from the minority government, following comments about the participation of transgender kids in sport.
The Sydney MP, Alex Greenwich – one of a handful of lower house crossbenchers the Coalition relies on to govern – said he could not have a “cooperative relationship” with the government if the premier continued to make “attacks” on the LGBTQ+ community.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Dave Sharma condemns comments of Warringah candidate Katherine Deves; Labor MP Terri Butler’s electorate office hit by car; nation records at least 50 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed
Q: But senator, I do want to take you up on that. This was the debate we were having in the dying days of the parliament, and all the national security experts and veterans in the field say it was unhelpful and that the ALP was anything other than supporting Australia’s policy, so why are you continuing this line of attack?
Simon Birmingham:
The Labor party have created the points of difference in the way they expressed themselves and the language they used. When last in office, let our investment in our defence forces whittle away to the lowest share of the economy. We brought it back to 2% of the GDP, and having that credible investment is what has enabled us to strike new defence pacts and partnerships with countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, making us a credible partner for defence and strategic investment in areas of artificial intelligence, in missile equipment and investment, and the nuclear-powered submarines.
I think we have seen a Labor party, who when China were making decisions to apply trade sanctions and tariffs against Australia, Labor seemed to want us to reach a compromise with China rather than to stand up for Australia.
Anthony Albanese spoke at the National Press Club not that long ago – he suggested we should negotiate or settle some of the points with the Labor party – sorry, with China. Well, ultimately, we have to stand up for Australian interests.
Continue reading...Kimberly Hone previously posted on social media that ‘one way to avoid domestic violence is to marry well’
The National party’s candidate for the marginal northern New South Wales seat of Richmond told worshippers at a Pentecostal church that her “ultimate goal” in politics was to “bring God’s kingdom to the political arena”.
The comments by the endorsed Nationals candidate, Kimberly Hone, have emerged alongside a series of old social media posts described by her opponents as “repulsive”, and include a post from 2017 that says “one way to avoid domestic violence is to marry well” with a broken Facebook link.
Continue reading...While business groups celebrate change to isolation rules, some experts remain cautious
The easing of Covid restrictions in Victoria and New South Wales has been welcomed by industry groups, despite concerns from some epidemiologists that it sends the wrong message at a time daily infections remain high.
From Friday, people in both states who live with Covid-19 cases or are deemed close contacts will no longer have to quarantine for seven days, provided they have no symptoms.
Continue reading...Study finds Chinese consumption will fall within two to three years as Australian coalmining communities warned to reduce dependence on industry
Australia’s coal export boom will come to an abrupt end because of an “imminent and substantial” drop in purchases by China, and local coal mining communities should brace for the change, the lead author of a new study says.
The peer-reviewed paper, published on Thursday in the journal Joule, forecasts China’s thermal coal imports will contract at least a quarter from 2019 levels of 210m tonnes by 2025, mostly as improved transport links will give local suppliers an edge.
Continue reading...Penny Wong says Morrison government’s handling of Solomon Islands the ‘worst Australian foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since the end of world war two’; NSW and Victoria to ease Covid restrictions from Friday night; undecided voters will put questions to the rivals at a Brisbane forum tonight in first leaders’ debate of 2022 election campaign; NSW reports 15 new Covid deaths and Victoria 14. Follow all the day’s news
For followers of South Australian politics, the good burghers of Bragg in Adelaide’s east are headed back to the polls, with Vickie Chapman announcing she will quit politics at the end of the month, triggering a by-election.
Chapman is a moderate Liberal and the new SA Liberal leader, David Speirs is ... not in the same faction.
Labor appears to have lost ground in the opening week of the federal election campaign according to the latest Guardian Essential poll, but a majority of respondents still think Anthony Albanese will be Australia’s next prime minister.
The latest survey of 1,020 respondents shows Labor’s standing in the two-party preferred “plus” measure is down three points in a fortnight, and there has been a two point increase in the number of undecided voters. But 55% of respondents believe Labor will win on 21 May.
Continue reading...Possible thunderstorms forecast for parts of Australia’s east over the coming days, as conditions gradually clear in Victoria
The east coast Easter sunshine is set to come to an end as heavy rain and possible severe thunderstorms are forecast for parts of New South Wales and northern Queensland this week.
The Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday said residents in parts of NSW should be on alert as “sunny conditions haven’t been enough to dry out the soils and surfaces” after recent flooding.
Continue reading...None of 17 markers on buildings where historical figures lived or worked, or where major events occurred, are in Labor-held seats
The New South Wales government has been accused of politicising history after announcing the first 17 successful public applications for the state’s new blue plaque scheme.
The $5m program – announced last June – has been modelled on a similar scheme in use across the UK for more than a century to remember notable people and places.
Continue reading...Federal government urged to provide compensation, as minister says families can apply for state-assisted or ‘pauper’ funerals
Aboriginal families in at least two states have been forced to leave the bodies of their loved ones in morgues because they can’t afford a funeral after the financial collapse of their insurer, which has previously been exposed for its “misleading and deceptive” conduct.
The collapse last month of Youpla Group has sparked calls for compensation for the more than 13,000 low-income Aboriginal people who face losing all they have paid into the funeral fund.
Continue reading...Anthony Albanese gets mixed reception at Bluesfest in Byron Bay, while Scott Morrison has a brain fade moment at a press conference and walks away from a young woman asking him about climate policy; NSW records four Covid deaths and Victoria one. Follow all the latest news
New South Wales has released its Covid numbers for the last 24 hours, with 11,166 new cases and sadly four deaths.
It might be a little later today before we hear from the Liberal campaign, given the time difference with Western Australia.
Continue reading...Three people are in hospital following a rescue operation at Surf Beach on the NSW south coast, police say
A woman has died and three other people are in hospital after being pulled from the water at a beach on the New South Wales south coast on Easter Sunday.
Ten people had to be rescued from the ocean at Surf Beach, about 8km south of Batemans Bay, by surf lifesavers and members of the public.
Continue reading...Labor says Anne Ruston as health minister if Coalition re-elected should ‘send a shiver down the spine’; WA records eight Covid deaths, NSW six, Victoria two and Tasmania one. This blog is now closed
Marise Payne has told the ABC’s Insiders she does not share the views expressed by Katherine Deves about transgender and gender diverse people that have prompted calls for her to be dropped as the candidate for Warringah.
She tells host David Speers:
I don’t share Ms Deves’ comments that she has made, but importantly she has apologised and withdrawn those views and as the prime minister said yesterday, in public life, we do have to be very careful about the way we express our opinions.
It is a matter for the organisation in New South Wales. I need to get on with my job, that’s what I’m doing. I don’t agree with the remarks she made, I’ve made that explicitly clear.
Continue reading...More than a month after they were announced 2,000 temporary pod homes are being sent to flood-affected communities
Up to 2,000 modular homes will be sent to accommodate displaced flood victims in northern New South Wales, a month after the state government announced the measure.
The temporary modular “pods” will be rolled out on the Northern Rivers, with the first 25 recovery pods to be delivered to Ballina, followed by additional sites to be named across Tweed, Byron, Richmond Valley and Lismore in coming weeks.
Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
Continue reading...Foreign minister says she has made it ‘explicitly clear’ she does not agree with comments made by Warringah candidate
Senior government frontbencher Marise Payne has distanced herself from the controversial Liberal candidate for the Sydney seat of Warringah, saying it is a matter for the party organisation whether Katherine Deves is disendorsed.
The foreign minister was pointed in her remarks on the range of captain’s picks overseen by Scott Morrison in lieu of normal preselection processes in New South Wales, telling the ABC’s Insiders program: “Some of them are fabulous candidates.”
Continue reading...Experts say 400-year-old work is likely collaboration between Dutch master Willem Claesz Heda and his son
A 400-year-old “one in a million” Dutch painting worth up to $5m has been found at a property in the New South Wales Blue Mountains.
Called Still Life, the work was recently located at the National Trust of Australia-managed Woodford Academy during a restoration project.
Continue reading...Data also reveals the government has fallen well behind its own targets for new dwellings
The New South Wales government has sold off $3bn worth of social housing during its decade in power, while failing to meet its own targets for new properties.
New figures released through parliament this week show that since it was first elected in 2011, the Coalition has sold off 4,205 social housing properties across the state.
Continue reading...On a per-voter basis, Coalition-held seats of Bass in Tasmania and Canning in WA given biggest spending commitments so far
Voters in the Tasmanian marginal seat of Bass are the most spoilt in the country, with each voter promised the equivalent of almost $6,000 in spending commitments in the opening stages of the election campaign.
In the first week of the six-week campaign, almost $500m has been pledged by both major party leaders as they crisscross the country. The focus is on a handful of marginal seats that will decide the election.
Continue reading...